Star Fox Armada revealed as cancelled internal Retro Studios pitch for Wii U

Star Fox Armada revealed as cancelled internal Retro Studios pitch for Wii U

Posted on February 5, 2023 by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U

Did You Know Gaming has uncovered Star Fox Armada, something that was once pitched internally for Wii U by former Retro Studios artist Eric Kozlowsky.

Kozlowsky shared information about what was planned while speaking with the outlet. He pitched the project (via a 12-page document) within the studio in 2013, but leadership quickly passed on it.

Here are some of the more notable points:

– Art style would have been like the puppet aesthetic seen in the series’ early promo images
– Would have continued where Star Fox 64 ended in terms of story and gameplay
– Fox would never get out of his ship
– Following the defeat of Andross, general Pepper realizes that Corneria and the Lylat System need to be rebuilt
– War with Andross left the Cornerian government with a lack of resources needed to rebuild the military and civilian sectors
– Pepper hires Star Fox, and their mission is to search nearby systems for allies and resources
– Fox and his crew will discover a threat even more imposing than Andross
– Intended to combine classic Star Fox 64 gameplay with new open world and multiplayer mechanics
– Single-player would have players taking on missions aboard the Great Fox and travel to planets, sectors, installations, and asteroid belts to complete them
– Earn money that can be given to Corneria, upgrade your ships, or buy new ones like the Land Master tank and Blue Marine submarine
– Choose how many resources to send back to aid in Corneria’s reconstruction and how much to keep for yourself
– Optional side quest missions planned that would lean into the more mercenary angle
– Less linear and more of a mission-based structure
– Fox can walk around the various decks in what amounts to an interactive menu
– GamePad would emulate a ship’s control panel with info about current mission, which parts damaged by enemy damage
– For co-op, player 1 would use a Wii Remote and nunchuck while player 2 would use the GamePad to be the ship’s gunner with a 360 degree view, repair and control shields
– Could play online with a friend or a group to complete missions in multiple ships
– Battle mode planned with dogfights
– “Armada” name comes into play since it encourages you to build up your own squadron
– Could design your own anthropomorphic characters
– Game would have other online players dropping down on you like with Star Wolf showing up in Star Fox 64, but this was optional
– DLC intended with new ships, missions, planets over time

You can check out the full video from Did You Know Gaming on Star Fox Armada below.

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These weren’t the only internal Retro Studios pitches that never saw the light of day. You can read about other ideas that had similar fates here and here – Metroid Tactics and Heroes of Hyrule.

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